


A Shinobi's Birthday

by FreakyPseudWriter



Category: Naruto
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Fluff, Birthday Presents, Comfort, Comfort Food, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dark Past, Developing Relationship, Dissociation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Napping, Past, Reader-Insert, Self-Insert, Tumblr request, kakashi's birthday, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:07:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28027515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreakyPseudWriter/pseuds/FreakyPseudWriter
Summary: It's a completely normal day for you, and yet, when your boyfriend stands on your doorstep, there is something about him which makes you worry.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Reader, Hatake Kakashi/Reader
Comments: 27
Kudos: 133





	A Shinobi's Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> Heya! Back with another request from Tumblr, and this one is just pure fluff and cuteness ^^ It's about Kakashi's birthday. I know, it has been some time since September (but not really because, you know, 2020 doesn't know how time works -.-) but I think we all need a little bit of comfort currently. Thus, this really fluffy, comforting fic ^^
> 
> I hope you will like this little fic just as much as I like it! Thank you all for giving this fic a try and stay safe and sound! :D
> 
> What about Kakashi’s birthday? It doesn’t have to be the entire day, but just the part where he and the reader watch something (maybe anime) and cuddle (SFW). My birthday is this week, so I’d love to see this >_<

It seemed like a totally normal day—a normal Thursday. The third Thursday of the month in fact. Like usual, you woke up to the sound of the busy street below your bedroom window. Konoha had just awakened as well, with the first wave of people out in the street and going along with their business. It promised to be a nice day for September, with the sun slowly rising in the east and the clouds lazily drifting by with the clear, blue sky enveloping everything around. As you stumbled into the kitchen to boil some water for tea, you couldn’t stop yourself from yawning. Gods, you really wanted to go back to sleep; back into the warm, safe cushions of your bed and the comfortable embrace of sleep. Just lazing around for a little bit longer.

Then, someone knocked on your door. You narrowed your eyes. Strange. Really strange. Who could it be, this early in the morning? Quickly, you combed through your hair with your fingers, slung a wide, big jacket over your shoulders and took a quick peek through the peephole to check.

“What are you doing here?” A smile tugged at the corners of your lips as you flung the door open. “Did we have a date and I forgot?”

Kakashi, in his usual slouched posture, merely shrugged. “No.”

“Something up?”

“Not really.”

“Are you alright?” Now, you were slowly growing worried. Your eyes darted all over Kakashi’s body, trying to gauge if he was hurt or not. There didn’t seem to be a freshly bandaged wound or anything, but maybe he carried some internal bleeding around or something else you didn’t know. “Are you hurt?”

Wouldn’t be the first time.

“No.” Kakashi had the audacity to roll his one visible eye. “I’m not hurt. I’m on vacation.”

“You’re on _what_?”

“I know. Ridiculous.”

“Why are you on vacation?”

At that, Kakashi didn’t answer. Instead, he buried his hands in his pockets and blankly stared at your crossed arms, not acknowledging your worries or concerns one bit. There was no chance to get any answer out of him in this state.

Something was up though. And in order to find out, you had to gently coax Kakashi out of his protective shell—that itself would probably take the entire day.

 _At least, I get my comfy morning in bed now_ , you thought to yourself as you turned around and left the door open. “Come in! Want some tea?”

“Tea,” came the gruff reply as you already rummaged through the cupboards in the kitchen, searching for the mug Kakashi preferred over every other mug in your possession (big, white and with a single print of a dog paw on the side). “Thanks.”

“No problem,” you gave back. And it wasn’t.

The relationship with Kakashi was still… fresh. Fresh in the sense of his presence being inside your home, turning around and spotting him standing in the doorframe, his dark eye looking around with obvious curiosity. How did your thrown-together furniture and porcelain look to him? Did it underline his opinion of you? Or did he now see you in a new light?

You weren’t presentable as well. Just out of bed, not even combed properly and not even having brushed your teeth yet. One of your hands flew up to twirl a strand of your hair around your finger, at which Kakashi lowly chuckled.

“Watch the tea,” you mumbled and brushed past the man, “I need to tell Miyagi-sama I won’t be coming to the dojo today.”

“Alright.” His warm voice echoed through the small flat, unbearably present and all-consuming. So strange and yet, you liked the effect it had on you. Some kind of giddy tingling deep in your guts, sparkling in your chest and warming your entire body.

As someone not taught at the Ninja Academy, having scrolls activated by chakra lying around was certainly a strange thing. However, Miyagi-sama was a strange shinobi in itself and a strange man all around. Old, with wrinkles deeper than canyons and white, bushy eyebrows looking like they were alive somehow. Though, his dojo for civilians was surprisingly popular, as it made people feel better in defending themselves against bandits or other dangers if they may encounter them on the road outside the protective walls of the village.

Miyagi-sama taught his employees more than self-defense though. As you grabbed one of the thin scrolls—not thicker than your pinky—you tried to remember his lessons about chakra control.

Not enough to be a shinobi. Not by a long shot. But just enough to activate the seal inside and watch the bird formed by ink and chakra fly out of the window. The messenger bird left you behind, with the empty scroll in your hands and your new boyfriend in your kitchen. Your boyfriend who obviously had something on his mind, but didn’t want to talk. You barely gave yourself enough time to brush your teeth, still worrying and asking yourself what was up with him.

_Fine. I’ll just tickle it out of the stubborn mule._

You weren’t surprised to see Kakashi already sitting in your living room. His cup was in his hands, but he didn’t drink yet while yours was sitting ever so innocently on the coffee table by the couch—right by his side, to be exact.

“Thank you.” The scent of the green tea had started to already permeate the air as you settled into the cushions of your couch. So close to Kakashi you could feel his heat on your skin, but not close enough to actually feel him by your side.

In total silence, you sat there and waited for your tea to cool down. Burning your tongue wasn’t in your plans today, but Kakashi’s visit also hadn’t been on your plate, so… In comparison though, you wanted to avoid the former more.

Stiff and still, Kakashi sat beside you. With his vest on, his mask tightly pulled up and even the damned headband still in place, he seemed frozen into place with the only occasional movement of a twitch of his arm as he held onto the hot porcelain.

He didn’t even seem to notice when you leaned in and placed one hand on his forearm.

“Hey. Are you there?”

“Mhmm…” But his eyes continued to stare, cutting holes into the air which you couldn’t see. Not one muscle moved and only barely, he allowed you to carefully pull his arm down and pry his hand open to put the still-way-too-hot mug on the coffee table.

“Kakashi,” you started, “are you…?”

“Yes. I am. Good tea, thanks.”

“No, I didn’t mean that.”

However, no matter how much worry laced your voice, Kakashi didn’t seem to notice. His eye, still unfocused and hazy, was set at the opposite wall. Not one bit of a reaction was coming from him. Only when you poked him in the side, he woke up with a little jerk and a distant, hasty cough. “What? Oh, yes. Sorry, I was…”

“Really far gone. I noticed.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault. Sometimes, that happens.”

“Mhmm…”

And Kakashi was gone again. His body may be with you on the couch, but his mind was wandering once more. So far gone you had no chance of reaching him with mere words.

Strange. You were only together for… what, a month? A few dates beforehand, some dates after that fateful day you asked Kakashi if he wanted to be exclusive, and that was that. Nothing more. And here he was, in your flat, totally out of the blue, and apparently totally out of it.

What could you possibly do here? What could you do to make him come back from whatever horror he was stuck on? Because that much you could already say: there weren’t that many happy times in his life and there were way too many horrors to drown out even the smaller, rest of the happy memories.

Maybe…

Just maybe. That could help.

Carefully, you stood up from the couch. No reaction from the man, just continued empty staring. Even when you left the room and walked back into your bedroom to shuffle through the drawers there in search of the item you thought of; the one time which might just help you to reach Kakashi in the long run.

A blanket. There, right on the top of the shelves of the drawer, stored away for even colder days and so big it could cover yourself and most of your mattress. Fluffy, soft, basically begging to be wrapped around a person to keep them warm and safe.

You had to tread carefully here. No one knew how a shinobi would act when woken up from a terrible daydream. Probably not good, that was for sure.

For a moment, you paused by the doorframe. Kakashi didn’t vanish, but continued to stare at the opposite wall. No visible movement, no blinking, hell, you weren’t even sure if he was still breathing.

“Kakashi?” Two steps into the room. “Hey.”

Only then, Kakashi reacted. A blink, a little flinch of his chin, then he looked around, over his shoulder. “Hey. Wait… Did you just grab this blanket?”

“Yes.”

“Are you cold?”

“No. It’s for you.”

His eyebrows nearly met. “I’m not cold.”

At that logical and completely true statement, you had to smile. “That might be true. But just indulge me for a few seconds.”

Kakashi shrugged. The best answer you could probably get. Still as careful as you were nearing a hurt dog, you approached him, walked around to the back of the couch and unfolded the blanket. And gods, it hurt to see how Kakashi flinched. It was just a tiny flinch, nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction, and yet it hurt to see; see him like this, off-center and oh-so-obviously searching for something to ground him. Still with the gentleness of a feather, you eased the blanket first over his shoulders, then allowed it to descend down his chest and right over his legs. Before Kakashi could protest, you weaseled around and tugged, and pulled the blanket properly into place, until the man was properly covered from head to toe by the soft, heavy fabric. Not even his toes were peeking out from underneath.

You moved up into an upright position again and noticed how Kakashi looked at you. At _you_ , not through you like you were just another ghost from his past. He was curious, slightly intrigued and even amused.

“How big is this blanket?” he asked. “Is it a circus tent?”

“No, not a circus tent. Even though you know almost everything about the circus business, you clown.”

His groan floated like a sweet symphony into your ears. “I really shouldn’t have told you about that mission.”

“Hey, I’m really grateful you did it. Gives me some grade A teasing material.”

On queue, Kakashi groaned once more and decided to retreat into the makeshift hood the blanket created. A fine gremlin, indeed. At the same time, you were glad Kakashi woke up a little bit; not entirely and you didn’t demand that. But the tiniest bit, and at the moment, you were satisfied with just that.

For a few more minutes, you fussed over him; tightening and fanning out the blanket even more around him, until Kakashi would probably have a problem breathing or moving soon—which had the added effect of making him unable to run away. Maybe it was a circumstance he wasn’t aware of yet, but he would probably notice soon enough.

“There.” With your hands placed in the crook of your hips, you took a step back. “Already nice, isn’t it?”

Underneath the blanket, you could barely make out how his toes wiggled in his sandals. A little happy motion which made you feel better about your small gestures already. Just a few more touches, then you would be certain Kakashi was rooted into the present.

“Yeah…?” He cocked his head to the side and watched his toes wiggle over the mountain of piled-up blanket and fabric. “I guess?”

“You guess? Alright, I’m not doing my job well enough then.”

A breathy chuckle came from out of the hood. “You’re already doing a fantastic job.”

“And still, not good enough.” With the blanket in the way, you felt safe enough to pat Kakashi’s head. Just two short pats, before you vanished again in the kitchen, always on the hunt for the ultimate combo to knock Kakashi out of his haze.

Thus, you missed the long stare after you and the mildly amused, partly dejected huff coming from within the blanket pile, before Kakashi heeled his sandals off and wiggled the thick vest off his shoulders.

~ X ~

Kakashi was a hard nut to crack. Nothing you did after cuddling him up in the blanket seemed to have an effect on him: the tea vanished sip by sip without another word, the fuzzy socks you threw into his lap while already running back to the front door to grab the ordered take-out were pulled on and not mentioned (the take-out was from one of the places visited on your rare dates and Kakashi had seemed to like the food even though you only barely received a low hum as he ate), and you avoided any eye contact while lowering your head over your own food.

A tough nut to crack. But you didn’t even think about giving up on him; not now, not yet. You still had some ideas left, one special idea in particular, though you had no idea if Kakashi would be very accepting of said idea.

You sat on the couch at Kakashi’s right side again. The empty containers of the take-out were sitting on the coffee table together with the empty cups; the tea and food long gone. Kakashi was still thoroughly hidden beneath the big blanket, not saying one word or moving one inch. Your own feet were propped up on the coffee table, crossed at the ankles, while your hands were busy fiddling with the sleeves of your jacket still hanging off your shoulders.

Now was the time. “Hey, Kakashi…”

At first, there was only silence. Then, after a few breaths in and out, and more tense moments than you could bear, Kakashi cocked his head ever so slightly to the side. “Yes?”

“Can I cuddle with you?”

You didn’t expect his reaction. Kakashi’s head had snapped around at the speed of lightning. He stared at you like you were a plant that started talking to him, telling him all the deepest, darkest secrets of the enemies of the Leaf or probably just wide-eyed at the mere suggestion of personal intimacy.

_Alright, not the reaction I aimed or hoped for, but a clear answer._

“It’s fine.” You raised your hands into the air, admitting defeat at the obvious rejection, “Just a question. Want to put on a movie or something? Something to drink, maybe?”

The man didn’t answer again. Just a pause, a little break before he turned his eyes away, back to staring into space. Or no. Actually, he didn’t. When you leaned forward a bit and managed to look past the hood, you saw how Kakashi had merely closed his visible eye, trying to hide the little wrinkle between his eyebrows that was telling you he was thinking about something very intently.

 _Very_ intently. He didn’t react for a few more moments, just continued to breathe, while you could only wait for an answer or decide if you were ignoring his pause and rambled on. So close, you were so close to just go on and leave your own questions unanswered. But then…

“Yes.”

“Yes to what?” You instantly gave back.

“To the drink.” His voice was muffled, but still clear enough to be heard. “To the movie. And…”

“To cuddle?”

“Mhmm…”

Thank the gods you were already looking at Kakashi, otherwise you would’ve missed the little, shy nod. Nothing more than a weak motion of the hood he retreated right back into, nothing more than the tip of his nose twitching as you scooted over. You closed the last bits of distance, threw your legs over his covered thighs, and pressed your flank to his. A bit uncomfortable.

Just when you wanted to loosen your previous embrace, Kakashi moved. Out of nowhere, his arm came out of the blanket. With bated breaths, you watched and felt how the man draped his arm ever so carefully over your lap, even tugging you closer.

This was really happening. You were cuddling with Kakashi; cuddling on your couch in your flat; cuddling with him and feeling some of his heat on your skin. A few weeks before, you wouldn’t even have dreamed about this, but now…

Gods, can I stop? This isn’t about me, this is about him maybe feeling better through cuddling!

“Is everything alright?” Subconsciously, your hand landed on his arm still draped over your lap. His fingers dug into the outside of your thigh, making you gnaw at your bottom lip and feel a telltale warmth crawl up to your face. “Are you comfortable?”

Again, a little pause, but faster than before, also the little nod.

“Do you want to stay this way?”

Again, a nod. Definitely more enthusiastic than before.

“Okay, then.” A gigantic weight was lifted off your shoulders with Kakashi’s nod. Still ever so gently, you cuddled closer, made sure to flush yourself against his body and enjoyed the little movements beside you. The small rise and fall of his chest, a little shuffle from his legs, the subconscious clenching of his hand still laying on your thigh.

Just a little thing was missing, but just as you were about to ask Kakashi, he had already unfolded the blanket and draped some of the fabric over your legs. He was just as careful and efficient, stuffing the rest of the fabric beneath your legs. When he was satisfied with the way he had caged your appendages, he looked over and noticed your amused smile.

“What?” Flustered, his hand stroked your covered legs once more. You could barely feel the pressure; the material was that thick. “It would be unfair to not share the blanket.”

“Yes, it would be.”

“Exactly.” Once more, almost hesitant, Kakashi repeated the motion. His hand slid upwards, up from your knee to the nook of your hips. And like a miracle, like he knew what you wanted, Kakashi allowed his hand to rest exactly there, burning through your clothes and making you wish you were a braver, brazen woman. “Really unfair.”

Silence settled again over the room after his voice died down. Silence; so wonderfully comfortable and warm. In the loose embrace of Kakashi, you closed your eyes and relaxed.

Just for a few minutes. Just for a few minutes, you could close your eyes and allow yourself to breathe. After that, you had to go back and try to cheer Kakashi up, no matter what it took.

_Just… five… minutes..._

~ X ~

The TV was running. Silent and the sound slightly static, but your sleep was light enough to wake up. Quickly, you blinked and tried to look around. What was going on? Didn’t you have to be at work? What time was it?

There was a hand resting on your hip which squeezed you as you started to shuffle around. “Ssh. Everything is good.”

You recognized the voice. “Kakashi?”

“Mhm.”

“What is…?” you tried, but the man only hummed lowly under his breath.

“Nothing. Sleep for a little bit longer.”

“...M’kay.”

So, you closed your eyes yet again and drifted off, lulled to sleep by the soft noises of the TV and the hand resting on your thighs stroking back and forth to the rhythm of your breathing.

~ X ~

Again, you woke up to some strange sounds. Strange sounds, indeed. You were curled up, lying in Kakashi’s lap, with soft breaths brushing over the top of your head. Still riddled by the warm coziness of a good, long nap, you reached out—reached out, upwards and touched a strong jaw covered by the thin, durable fabric of his mask.

Night dawned on the horizon, painting everything into a strange, orange shade slowly fading into the blue of the incoming darkness. Even Kakashi wasn’t spared at being painted in a new, almost magical light. Thus, with his eye closed, you took the opportunity to shamelessly ogle at him.

Something you hadn’t done in weeks. Even the hood created by the blanket had slipped down, revealing the very tips of his bright, silvery hair. Your eyes traced the angle of his jaw, the shape of his nose, the peacefully closed eyelid and the rest of his headband still askew and obscuring your vision. Your own hand rested against his jaw; the fingertips edging over his skin like the wings of a butterfly. Kakashi was beautiful like this, peaceful and here in the moment, touched by the first shades of night-blue and the last bits of a dying day.

Then, his one eyelid trembled, only to snap open. Unfocused and hazy, then their focus returned. You didn’t dare move, just watched how the man regained his consciousness. Holding your breath didn’t seem appropriate, and yet, you did. How would he react?

Kakashi blinked once more, then his gaze focused. Zeroed in on you, on your face, then fluttered over to your outstretched arm to the very edges of your wrist. Further he just couldn’t look, with his other eye hidden beneath his headband.

“What are you doing?” His voice was raspier than usual, strained by his own nap.

Automatically, your lips curled into a little grin. “Enjoying the view, obviously.”

“Are you?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Well.” A little grunt and Kakashi’s own hand rose to capture yours. “So am I.”

There he was. A wide grin flashed over your face. The curtain which hung over his mind the entire day was gone; lifted and vanished into thin air like fog at the start of a hot summer day. Some wisps were left, but these were nothing but faint afterimages. Kakashi was here, physically and psychologically, and you couldn’t wish for more than that. Soft and warm, yet a bit bristly and never too shy to say something witty.

While your fingers entangled with his, you grinned at him. Your head fell back onto his thigh and your cheek pressed against Kakashi’s leg. “Welcome back.”

“Yeah. Thanks. The present…” Kakashi closed his eye for a second. “The present is much better than the past.”

“Is it?”

“Yes.” His fingers tightened around your hand. “Much better.”

Maybe, your nap made you into the brave and brazen woman you wished to be; just not in the sense you wanted. Your mouth moved on its own and your tongue had its own will as you asked, voice meek and trembling, but eyes steadfast settled on Kakashi: “Why were you… like that? What happened?”

He was also surprised. You could tell by the slight widening of his eye. For a moment, there was nothing else but the harsh breaths of the two of you in the silence. A long moment, tense and yet so breakable it hurt in your chest.

However, Kakashi broke the tense moment with nothing more than a deep sigh. “I’m… Today is my birthday.”

The answer was so mundane, so _normal_ , that you simply couldn’t comprehend it at first. His… birthday? Kakashi’s birthday? That was it?

No, this wasn’t just it. As a civilian, birthdays were usually something to be celebrated. There was cake. There were presents. Family and friends were around. You never thought what a birthday could mean to a shinobi. Was it a sad occasion? Were they angry to have made it to another year? Were shinobi sad? Happy? Did they think about all the sacrifices made during the last year and drowned their sorrows in booze?

What did they do for their birthday? And, even more importantly, what did Kakashi usually do for his birthday?

“It’s your birthday?” you echoed, still trying to really understand what he said. “Today?”

Kakashi nodded.

“And you came here?”

“Yes.”

“You wanted to spend your birthday… with me?”

A smile curled his eye into the lovely half-moon you noticed first about the man. “Yeah. I wanted to spend it with you.”

“Even though…”

“Even though… what?”

Your hand squeezed his. “Even though I don’t have a present for you.“

You had wanted to say anything but that. You wanted to bring up the short length of your relationship, the differences between you and him, the unlikeliness you could do anything for him to make this day special. But to your eternal surprise, Kakashi continued to smile, while his fingers fiddled with yours like it was the most interesting thing to do in the world.

“Don’t worry.” You blushed when Kakashi pressed a gentle kiss to your palm, his lips nothing more than short pressure on your skin. “You already gave me the best birthday I could’ve wished for.”

A simple answer. And yet, you were so happy you couldn’t help but snuggle closer, press your cheek into his thigh again and look up into Kakashi’s gaze, enjoying the closeness of the intimate touch and somehow knowing deep down in your stomach, that you did the right thing for Kakashi.

And that was in the end, still the most important thing, especially on his own birthday.

**Author's Note:**

> Proofread and beta'ed by the amazing Chisie! Thank you so much for your hard work! T^T9


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